Day 15 – Labuan Bajo

Our 4th stop in Indonesia has been Labuan Bajo. It’s a small fishing village on the island of Flores, which is “near” Bali.

We came to Flores for 2 reasons: to see komodo dragons and so Dave could dive with Manta rays. We’ve seen some truely gorgeous sunsets here and we had a chance to enjoy some fantastic fresh red snapper in the fish market our first night here. I’ve been in culinary heaven with all the seafood!!

Unfortunately, the town of Labuan Bajo itself has been a let down. Everything is very overpriced and people are pushier here than we saw in Jogyajarta or Sumatra. I don’t think we’ll ever be back in this little town, though I do think it’s going to continue to change in the next little while.

Tourism is only beginning to become part of the economy here, and from what we’ve heard from the French dive master on our tour, people here are stubborn. They don’t have much desire to change the way they do things to accommodate tourists. This makes me think that Labuan Bajo is destined to limit its appeal as a tourist destination. But who knows… We’ve been to much worse places that are far better known and more popular!

Day 14 – Flights

We had a shorter holiday this year but still wanted a long vacation, so we opted to take some rather crummy flights to save on holiday time. One of those flights was this morning.

The flight itself only left at 6:10, but we always try to give ourselves enough time, so we aimed to be at the airport for 4am. Unfamiliar airports can be tricky, and so can traffic in unfamiliar cities.

We arrived slightly ahead of schedule, and I was right…Jogjakarta airport IS different: it doesn’t open until 4:30. Even when there are flights departing at 5:30.

Quite a crowd formed in the half hour we waited. By the time the security guard unlocked the doors, Dave and I were standing right at the front, ready to go in. As a result, we made it through prescreening, check in, baggage drop off and security within 10 minutes flat.

I got a bit of sleep on the plane, but woke up when Dave pointed out that we were flying over a giant volcano and able to look into its crater. I was too busy watching to think of getting a picture, but I found this one online that’s pretty close.

A few minutes later, we started flying over all of Indonesia’s tiny islands. This is where we saw the most spectacular views.

Now, we’re on one of these gorgeous islands (Flores) and in the next few days we’ll visit 3 others (Komodo, Rinca & Padar).

Life continues to be awesome!!

Day 13 – Food

Traveling isn’t only about learning about new cultures and experiences. It’s also about food!!

We’ve been loving the food in Indonesia and have definitely eaten our fair share of new dishes in the last few weeks. But Indonesian food isn’t all there is to discover.

It seems like every country on earth does Western food better than China does! I just enjoyed a fantastic smoked salmon bagel with capers and all in the tourist district of Jogyajarta. I haven’t had anything remotely close to this good of a sandwich in China in any of my 4 years living there, but every time we travel, we come upon these little shops that sell great Western soups and sandwiches.

Yet another reason I live to travel.

Ps… Yes, my bagel is missing a bite in the picture because I dove in as soon as the plate hit the table!!

Day 12 – Eco-Tourism & Fair Trade

Fairtrade: trade in which fair prices are paid to producers in developing countries.

Ecotourism: tourism directed toward exotic, often threatened, natural environments, especially to support conservation efforts and observe wildlife.

These two terms have become an increasingly important part of my life the more I’ve traveled. I discovered Fairtrade when I visited British Columbia in 2008. When you learn about Fairtrade, you also learn about “regular trade” and how companies like Walmart and Nestle underpay their employees and overpay their CEO’s.

Certain industries, such as coffee and cocoa are very in need of fair trade practices because without them, farmers are being forced to work for unlivable wages. In turn, coffee and cocoa farmers around the world are moving to different industries, which means less coffee and chocolate for the rest of us.

I learned about Ecotourism later in life. Dave and I “accidently” booked an ecotour because it came discounted with our hotel stay in Phuket, Thailand. The experience was amazing and I was hooked.

Our entire last week in Sumatra was booked through a company that is passionate about Ecotourism. As a result, our guides were paid a fair wage, they taught us about preserving the Indonesian jungle and they took it upon themselves to keep the jungle clean. We left nothing behind; we did nothing to disturb the animals around us.

Our time in Sumatra really left an impression on us, so today I did some digging and I found a fairtrade-focused store in Jogyajarta called Viavia. If you are on our “nice” list, there’s a good chance you’ll be receiving gifts from there this summer.

They even have a bar made of repurposed plastic bottles ?

Day 11 – Bukit Lawang Jungle Trekking

Our time in Bukit Lawang has ended and I couldn’t be much more bummed about it! We had an amazing time and met some really great people. Last night we met up with Janine, Sardi and Jimmy at the restaurant to say goodbye and play some trivia. Our team won!!

Sardi also had a gift for me. He carved these orangutan necklaces out of stones while we were at the camp. I absolutely love them and think they’re a perfect representation of our stay in Bukit Lawang.

I can’t wait for the chance to go back to Northern Sumatra and see these wonderful people again!!!

Day 10 – Juni

I wasn’t going to share any of our best pictures just yet, but I think Juni deserves her own post.

This was the 3rd orangutang we saw on our trek. She is absolutely beutiful, but looked so incredibly sad.

I asked our guide, Jimmy, about her and he said that a few weeks ago her baby became sick. She wasn’t getting better, so the park Rangers decided to get her some help, which involved getting her out of the jungle.

From what we heard, she’s doing fine but she hasn’t yet been returned to her mom. This poor orangutan seems so lonely. She just sat there like that for ages. I am so happy that they were able to save her baby and that she will be reunited Juni before too long ?

There are so many people here trying so hard to help these beautiful animals. I’m so glad to be part of it!!!

Day 9 – Victory!!!

This is my victory face.

I share it without any concern for the lack of filters or the lack of makeup because this photo was taken about 10 minutes after we arrived at our jungle camp, after a long 6 hours of hiking. I couldn’t be prouder of this unflattering photo!

The trails were easily the most difficult I’ve ever done. It was only 5km from where we started, but it was up and down hills and through slippery terrain and hopping over logs.

By the end, my legs were absolute jelly and I was having a hard time balancing. I managed to only fall once, but only because Sardi was there helping my along to make sure I didn’t fall again.

As soon as we arrived, we stripped down to our bathing suits and hopped in the cool stream behind me. It was a perfect way to finish the trek.

Day 8 – Sardi

Sardi was our guide for days 1 and 2 of our tour and he also accompanied us during our 2 day jungle trek, as he’s going to become a trekking guide himself.

I can’t say enough nice things about Sardi. He was very helpful throughout the tour and he knew so much about the jungle!! He’s still learning English so he sometimes struggled to explain things but he always tried.

He grew up in the jungle and even Bukit Lawang was overwhelming for him when he was a child. He was completely at home in the rainforest, hopping around in flip flops while Dave and I tried not to slide all the way down the mountain on our butts!!

He really made the already amazing experience so much better!!!

Day 7 – Horas Bukit Lawang!!

Horas!! Hello, Welcome!! It’s all we heard as we walked through Bukit Lawang late Friday night. People here are unbelievably friendly and the smile doesn’t fade when they know you aren’t buying anything.

Our experiences in North Sumatra have been so wonderful, and a lot of that has to do with the way we’ve been treated. Everyone is so kind and welcoming. Everyone wants to make sure we are happy in their little town.

I took this picture as we were walking through town over the weekend. People had come out from Medan for the holiday and were playing in the river. When they saw I had a camera, this family started shouting “photo!!! Take our photo!!!!”.

I’m so glad I did because I feel like it captured the feeling of this beautiful little “Gateway to the Hills”.

Day 6 – Volcano!

Today is a travel day, which means winding roads, pretty scenery and intense driving. We stopped a few times today to see waterfalls and to stretch. We even saw countless monkeys rummaging through garbage people tossed out their windows.

Our most interesting stop though, was to see Mt. Sinabung. Just two weeks ago, this volcano erupted, sending ash into the air and lava down one side.

This was taken 2 weeks ago

Luckily (?) for us, the main event has passed, but there was still a bit of smoke coming out of the top.

Very cool thing to see!!!